Is Verstappen really ready for F1?

The teenaged Formula 3 graduate enters only his second season in car racing at the very top level. BEN ANDERSON investigates whether the Dutchman is up to it

How young is too young to be a Formula 1 driver? Every time a new teenager joins the grid there is outcry from those F1 fans who feel the sport should be reserved for men and not boys (or women and not girls!).

Max Verstappen has been dealing with this righteous indignation ever since Red Bull signed the then-16-year-old single-seater rookie and granted him an almost instantaneous promotion to F1 last summer. Many feel a 17-year-old (his birthday is in September) who cannot yet drive on the road legally has no place racing at the top level of motorsport. Governing body the FIA seems to retrospectively agree, having since decided to change F1's superlicence rules for 2016 - to prevent another Verstappen breaking through.